Monday, December 10, 2012

Helmet Week 2

Wes is doing great and completely adjusted to the helmet.  It's like a part of him now.  I kind of get excited to take the helmet off in the morning for his half hour break because I can see a difference everyday!  It's amazing!

He now rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy.  If I leave the room for a minute he's usually in a new position when I come back!  He'll be on the move before we know it. He tried sweet potato this week and loved it.


Before helmet

 Week 1

Week 2

Week 2

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

He Made the Team

Well, maybe it's a little too early for him to be on the hockey team, but his new cranial helmet makes him look the part.  I first noticed Wes' head looked flat at about 6 weeks.  I mentioned it to the pediatrician, but was told to do more tummy time and wait to see what happened.  I became obsessed with tummy time and wearing him in the Baby Bjorn.  I was terrified to put him on his back because I didn't want it to get any worse.  The problem was that Wes looked straight up at the ceiling when he slept at night.  I used to go in and turn his head at night, but he would move it right back as soon as I left the room.

Then at his two month appointment we were sent to see a specialist at Children's Hospital to discuss the flatness.  We were told that Wes has a moderate case of Brachycephaly, which is when the head is flat  and becomes wider than normal.  I went home that day feeling guilty and blaming myself for the flatness.  Did I put him on his back too much?  I should have held him more?  After doing some research, I learned how common this is and tried to stop blaming myself.  Then I started to worry about how he was going to adapt to the helmet.  I spent many nights worrying about it and wondering if we were making the right decision to put him in the helmet.  Was he going to hate it?  Would he cry all the time?  It didn't help that we had to wait until Wes was just about 5 months to get the helmet.  It was weeks of waiting, but it's finally here.

Last Monday I took Wes to get fitted for his helmet.  I told myself that I was going to be strong and keep it together, but I sat down with the orthotist and started crying (I'm sure this is not a surprise to most).  I was just so nervous about how he would react and the tears just started flowing.  Luckily, the orthotist was very understanding and told me almost every mom cries at the fitting.  Then he came in with the helmet, stuck it on Wes' head, and Wes gave me the biggest smile.  That's when I was sure I did the right thing.  We have had one minor issue with the way it was fitting last week, but we got it adjusted and Wes is doing great!  We have noticed a huge difference in just a week!  He'll have the roundest head in town before we know it!

Besides adjusting to his new life with a helmet, he has been very busy learning to roll over, eat oatmeal, and getting better at sitting up on his own!  He is such a happy little guy!



                                         I'll post more pictures after we decorate the helmet!





less than a week after

Before Helmet (not the best side profile, but you get the idea)


(less than a week after helmet)



Monday, October 15, 2012

Lots of News

I think it's been a couple months since I last posted, so there is a lot to catch up on.  I've been just a little busy with two kids and settling into our new house, but things are finally coming together.  I finally feel like our house is our home and it is a lot more manageable.  I still don't have a ton of time to write, so I'm going to fill you in with pictures!

The best smile!
Tummy Time (3 months)

My handsome man

Two kids

Playing dress up

Her favorite window

bath time

She's 2!  Happy birthday, Liv!

So many presents 
Pizza party with her friends 

Loves cupcakes



Pumpkin patch

I think she saw and airplane

so many pumpkins



Thank you for my new car, Tutu and Pops!

Poor Dougie!

She's getting ready to attack

Doug is loving the cooler weather

I will post pics of the new house soon!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Wes Jonathan Adams


He's here!  Wes Jonathan Adams was born on June 30th at 4:36 am.  He weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.  It's been a little bit of an adjustment to go from 1 to 2 kids, but we're managing.  It doesn't make it any easier that we're moving in less than 3 weeks!  Luckily, my mom was here for the last 2 weeks and we managed to get a good amount of packing done.  You definitely have to jump right back into life after the second kid comes.  There is no time to sit around and watch TV the way I did after I had Olivia.  I did take advantage of my time in the hospital though.  It was kind of like a mini vacation.  I watched a lot of Sex and the City on my ipad, someone brought me food, and I didn't have to listen to Doug and Erik snore at night.  The hospital was kind of nice and I think I might even miss it.

Here are some pictures from our first two weeks at home.








Saturday, June 16, 2012

Strawberries

We are so lucky to be surrounded by great farms this time of year.  This morning we met the Benjamin family at Verrill Farm in Concord for some strawberry picking and lunch.  Olivia had so much fun picking the strawberries and eating them.  I think she had more fun eating them.   Her face and clothes were bright red by the time we left.  Now I need to figure out what to make with all of our strawberries!








Tuesday, May 29, 2012

So Much News

I don't even know where to begin because there is so much to share.  I guess I'll start with the little man and his approaching arrival.  We have about 6 weeks (maybe more, hopefully a little less) to go before Olivia is a big sister.  At this point, she loves to talk about him and touch my growing belly, but we'll see what happens when he's actually here.  She really does seem to love babies and she's been getting a lot of experience around them.  My sister had a girl, Sage Miriam Benjamin, last Monday and they are both doing great!  I'm so excited for Olivia to have another girl cousin.  Olivia loves Sage and talks about her all the time.  We've been to Ricki's house a few times in the last week and Olivia gets so excited to see the baby and Jonah too!  Olivia is a lucky girl to have 4 cousins that are all pretty close in age!

The other really big news is that we will be home owners very soon!  We bought a house in Lynnfield and are closing at the end of July.  Erik and I couldn't be more ready to be out of our apartment and in our own home.  We will be moving in mid August, so we'll be just a little busy this summer between moving and having a newborn.  We're going to try to get most of the packing and furniture buying done these next few weeks, so we don't have too much to do once the baby is here.

Olivia started swim lessons this month at Boston Sports Club.  At first she wasn't sure about being in the pool, but now she loves it or that's what Erik tells me.  Erik takes her to class on Sunday mornings and I get a morning to myself!  It's been great to be able to relax, go to the gym, and just have some alone time.

Here are some pictures from the last month or two.



 Swim lessons

 First Four Legged Faithful Concert

 Belmont Town Day
 Playing at the park
Furniture shopping

Monday, April 9, 2012

Matzoh balls and Easter eggs

It was a busy weekend preparing for and celebrating two holidays. On Saturday night we celebrated Passover with my sister, Ricki, and her family. It wasn't the most in depth Seder, but we managed a mini Seder before the kids got too hungry. Olivia loves to eat soup, so she was excited for matzoh ball soup even though she didn't eat the matzoh ball. This was the first time I have been able to celebrate Passover with my family in years, so it was a special evening for me.

Then we celebrated Easter on Sunday. Olivia woke up to her first Easter basket and egg hunt. She had so much fun searching for eggs and had her first Reese's peanut butter cup. My little lady definitely has a sweet tooth. She had a big smile on her face while she was chewing. She's been asking for chocolate ever since. We were supposed to spend the afternoon with family, but had to cancel our plans because of a stomach bug. The last thing we wanted was a repeat of Christmas! Erik, Olivia, and I spent the afternoon at home and played around the house. It was nice to just enjoy being home because we've been spending most of our weekend afternoons at open houses. We'll start the house hunt again next weekend.